Preamble

The Pacific Green Party is optimistic that together we can overcome the many challenges facing our great State of Oregon. This platform outlines a program of courage and commitment to remedy these challenges.

To recreate a vibrant democracy, substantial reforms are necessary. At all levels of government elected officials must be held fully accountable to the people electing them. Robust civil societies spring from dynamic community involvement. These are the foundations of free and democratic cities, states, and countries.

Our economic system concentrates unprecedented wealth and power in the hands of a very few. Violence, illness, and oppression rob the many of the opportunity to thrive. Our democratic system, the cornerstone of our party’s philosophy, continues to be eroded.

As a society we extract resources from and dump waste into our environment at an unsustainable pace. We risk collapse of the ecosystem on which we depend unless we make an immediate and dramatic change in our practices.

These Ten Key Values of the green movement motivate all of our policies:

Grassroots Democracy

Social Justice

Ecological Wisdom

Nonviolence

Future Focus and Sustainability

Respect for Diversity

Decentralization

Community Based Economics

Feminism and Gender Equity

Personal and Global Responsibility

The Pacific Green Party is a genuine alternative political voice. Together we can change the course of our state to create a better future for ourselves and for generations to follow.

Because of the synergy and overlap between these Ten Key Values, we have organized this platform to correspond to the first four values, also called the Four Pillars.

This Platform was adopted on 15 April 2012 by the registered members of the Pacific Green Party at the State Meeting held in Eugene. It is our collective intended direction, not a litmus test. This two year platform will be modified and updated again to reflect changes before the 2014 election.

National and Global Issues

The issues of concern to Pacific Greens are not limited to Oregon. The two Senators and five Representatives from the State of Oregon are charged with helping to shape the nation and the world we share. Pacific Green Party candidates for these positions will be guided by this state platform and by the platform of the Green Party of the United States (http://www.gp.org).

In order to develop a global economy in which nations, local communities, labor unions and individual workers can acquire and retain control of their own destinies and build prosperity in an ecologically sound manner, We the People must:

Transition from any carbon producing industry to green technologies, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydrokinetics, and hemp. Acknowledge the human contribution to climate change.

Bring home all US troops stationed abroad, except for the military assigned to protect US embassies or those functioning directly under UN peacekeeping operations

Compel the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to finance sustainable development that supports human and labor rights, provides for basic health care and education

Require that all future trade agreements include triple bottom line principles of accounting that guarantee strong labor and environmental standards will be applied and strictly enforced; that local autonomy will be respected and maintained; and that trade disputes will be resolved through open and democratic processes

Terminate all research, development, production and testing of nuclear power and weapons. Decommission and clean up all current and contaminated nuclear sites, plants, ships, and installations

Maintain that airsheds and watersheds are Commons, and their resources are not for sale. When possible, help developing nations map and develop clean airsheds and watersheds.

Repeal the USA PATRIOT Act

Grassroots Democracy

Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

Campaign Finance Reform

Action Items:

Propose a ballot measure for a Constitutional Amendment to the Oregon Constitution to eliminate the “personhood” of corporations.

Propose a ballot measure for a Constitutional Amendment to the Oregon Constitution to disassociate the spending of money from speech, so to allow meaningful limits to prevent those with money from purchasing influence in government

Support efforts to eliminate corporate personhood and reverse the Citizens United decision and the false identification of money as speech.

Ban all corporate donations for Oregon elections, whether for offices or initiatives

At every level of government, decision-makers are increasingly beholden to wealthy special interests. Multinational for-profit corporations have particularly strong influence. In order to restore genuine democracy, We the People demand:

Strict limits on campaign contributions to officeholders with a public funding apparatus in place for public financing for all campaigns for public office.

Lower the number of signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot

Require full disclosure of any organizational influences on the crafting of the wording of all ballot measure.

Media Reform

Action Items:

Reassert that the full-spectrum airwaves are a part of the Commons

Increase citizen access to all media, including internet, television, and radio. Provide public funding.

Increase the number of frequencies reserved for public use

Repeal the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and Related Subsequent Provisions within Copyright Law which has resulted in the intimidation, prosecution, and/or conviction of people in our country for sharing information.

Information is power! The airwaves belong to the people of the United States and not to corporations. The First Amendment protects the freedom of the press, and the internet can function as a virtual “press” for all citizens. We must keep access to the internet and the freedom of the press it provides protected. The leasing of the airwaves needs to bring revenue to the state that reflect the growing commercial value of those airwaves. The airwaves must also remain available for the open sharing of information for the betterment of the democracy. We the People demand:

All media outlets provide free airtime to all candidates and to all sides of ballot initiatives

All cable and satellite television providers must broadcast all local stations in their least costly option

No single entity or person be allowed to own more than one broadcast outlet in the same locality

The Internet be considered part of the information commons with no grant of special privileges for users who can afford to pay more than others

Stronger internet privacy law, granting passwords, encryption, and other forms of electronic privacy the same privileges as sealed envelopes

Some portion of airtime on broadcast and cable television be made available to citizens who would not be able to afford advertising time. This includes encouragement of local broadcast media such as low-power neighborhood radio stations and adequate funding of public media

That satire and critique in the media be protected by Oregon’s free speech protections if interpretations of the “fair use doctrine” in Copyright law fails to protect it

“Sunshine laws” to grant citizen and media access to records of all government decision-making. Exceptions may be made in an extremely small number of situations involving privacy and security and must be approved by a joint legislative/executive council

Election Reform

Adopt proportional representation also authorized in the same section.

Our elections and our government do not live up to our ideals of free and open democracy. The current plurality voting system gives the office to the candidate receiving the most votes, even if that candidate did not receive a majority. We are particularly concerned with mechanisms that shut out diverse opinions. We the People demand:

A reduction of ballot access barriers for third parties and independent candidates, includes the repeal of HB 2614, which places unreasonable restrictions on independent candidates change how Oregon House members are elected

Use State-wide proportional representation to allocate the seats based upon the percentage of the vote received by the several parties, rather than gerrymandered districts which have aided the two-party dominance of Oregon politics

Proportional allocation of Oregon’s Electoral College votes until the Electoral College is eliminated and the President elected by direct vote of the people

Require that the drawing of all redistricting maps by a special nonpartisan body. Many legislative races are uncontested due to gerrymandering by Democrats, Republicans, or both. An election with only one candidate on the ballot is meaningless

Voting rights for all, including prisoners. Voting is a safe way for prisoners to participate in society as part of their rehabilitation

Continued use of Oregon’s mail-in ballot system. We oppose the use of paperless electronic voting machines, the operation of which cannot be independently checked; and a random hand audit of ballots.

Social Justice

All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.

Human Rights & Nondiscrimination

Action Item:

Reverse Ballot Measure 36 and end the discriminating definition of marriage.

Withdraw Oregon from and nullify the enforcement of “The Patriot Act” and “National Defense Authorization Act” within the State of Oregon.

Divest from Arizona, Alabama, and any state that criminalizes human rights issues such as documentation status and abortion or contraception rights.

Advocate the passage of the “Economic Bill of Rights” as discussed by the economics platform plank.

Recognize the humanity of all people born in this world and block laws that marginalize or dehumanize any segment of humanity, especially Latinos, Muslims, and the LGBTQ communities who have been recently targeted by hate-groups.

We acknowledge the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. We seek to end all discrimination based on economic class, race, gender orientation, disability, age, spiritual belief and all other forms of cultural fragmentation. We the People must:

Recognize Native American land and treaty rights as agreements between sovereign nations.

Protect the rights and safety of immigrant workers from exploitation.

Prevent INS from separating immediate family members by deportation.

Education

Action Items:

Withdraw Oregon from “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top” as these top-down programs centralize and nationalize the local issue of educating our children

Student loan indebtedness is a 21st Century version of indentured servitude. Make all Oregon public colleges and universities free to Oregon residents who have lived here at least three years.

Fully fund health and physical education as a response to the growing problem of childhood obesity.

Improve school breakfast/lunch programs to include more locally grown whole foods and less processed foods

Focus the food offerings upon a plant-based diet with meat as a side dish. This inclusive approach satisfies all dietary needs, affirms healthy diets, and lowers our collective impact on the food chain.

Ensure that school grounds are zones of tolerance that do not accept any physical, verbal, emotional, or electronic bullying or harassment of any person for any reason

Education is a right to be shared, not a privilege to be sold to the highest bidder. Oregon citizens deserve a quality educational system with sufficient and equitable funding so that all levels of public schools are safe, well equipped, and staffed by appropriately trained professionals. We the People demand:

An emphasis on the teaching of skills for a democratic society including communication, conflict resolution, environmental awareness, and respect for diversity.

Affirm that cultural and immersion programs are positive tools of diversity and empowerment in education.

Reduced class sizes to ensure a quality learning environment for students and work environment for teachers.

Schools explore the cost/benefit of e-readers (i.e. Kindle, iPad) for students to combat both the back strain from heavy textbooks and the technology divide.

Honor themultipleintelligences of students by providing vocational, academic, professional, and artistic educational pathways.

Full funding and support for Special Education, English Language Learner, and accelerated programs.

Prohibit corporate and military advertisements in public K-12 schools, except passively in high school career centers.

Expand community college opportunities for continuing education and job training for all adults.

Because Oregon is a state of many languages, we oppose efforts to make English the official language of Oregon. To affirm this, schools will offer second language programs to broaden the learning of all students.

Health Care

Action Items:

Institute a single-payer health care system for Oregon by seeking a waiver from the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, just as Oregon got a waiver for the initial introduction of the Oregon Health Plan (1993).

Until a single-payer system is instituted, no private health care insurance provider will be permitted to operate in Oregon unless it covers preexisting conditions, contraception, and abortion services for all its members.

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of good health. We acknowledge that personal health depends on public health. Public health requires the health of the natural, built, and social environments. The health status of others provides benefits to all, including future generations. We the People must:

Use precautionary, preventive approaches in decisions regarding public and private health concerns.

Insist that comprehensive health care not be tied to employment alone.

See that health care includes medical, vision, dental, mental health services and hospitalization, and is protected as a basic right for all Oregonians.

Guarantee the right of all patients to choose their health care providers.

Guarantee the right of all patients to make personal medical decisions, including those involving abortion and the end of life such as Oregon's Death with Dignity law.

Support Oregon laws that protect children from parents irresponsibly withholding safe and effective medical care.

Ensure the availability of rehabilitation and adaptive aids, to allow those with disabilities to achieve maximum independence.

Monitor toxic chemical facilities and high voltage power lines and prohibit locating such facilities near residential areas, other public areas such as schools, and minority and low-income communities.

Social Services

Action Items:

Maintain extended unemployment benefits for all unemployed workers within each county until the county unemployment rate drops below 7%.

Invalidate the foreclosure of any primary residential home when title recording rules are not followed. Grant full title to the purchaser and cause the bank or mortgage lender to forfeit any claim to that property.

Bar the use of drug-testing from public assistance qualifications.

Wall Street got bailed out, but Main Street Oregon remains deeply troubled by the Great Recession. Poverty and homelessness are on the rise. Many families are now reaching the limits of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Many unemployed and displaced workers are reaching the limits of their Unemployment insurance benefit. In order to reverse the trend of growing injustice to our most vulnerable citizens, We the People must:

Restore and fully fund domestic discretionary programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) and programs for persons who are unemployed or disabled.

Allow exemptions from work requirements for:

welfare recipients pursuing higher education,

homeless people looking for housing,

victims of domestic violence who need time to find safety and independence, and

single parents of children under the age of five years.

Ensure the existence of an adequate supply of affordable housing through public subsidies, equitable rent controls, and other means.

Strengthen and enforce tenants’ rights, including a ban on evictions without just cause.

Expand community-based services for homeless people.

Worker Rights

Action Items:

Establish a preference for state contracts for local businesses that employ local people as their primary workforce, specifically businesses that outsource less than one-third of their work

Reclaim any and all properties owned by absentee landowners whose property remains vacant or foreclosed without sufficient action to make these properties accessible to the economic well being of Oregon.

Growing income disparity is undermining democracy. To promote a just distribution of the goods and services amongst all Oregonians, We the People must:

Replace the measurement of Gross National Product with measures that internalize normally “external” measurements such as environmental impacts and human well-being.

Taxation

Replace Ballot Measures 5, 47, and 50 with a graduated property tax. Increase tax rates on vacation homes and all properties of higher value, defined as in excess of twice the county’s median value

Currently Social Security stops taxing incomes over $110,100 (2012). Oregon will institute a tax on all incomes over the Social Security maximum on both the individual income earners and on the businesses paying those salaries in an amount equal to whatever the current Social Security tax rate is, thus closing this regressive loop hole in the tax code. These funds will supplement the General Fund.

Reform Oregon’s kicker law to set aside any excess as a rainy day fund

Reverse the inequity of income tax distribution. According toExtendedGeneralFundRevenueOutlook, 6.8% of income tax will come from corporate source whereas 93.2% will come from individuals. Within 10 years, ensure that businesses will pay 35% of income tax with individuals picking up 65%.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization”. Taxation serves three positive purposes: funding programs which benefit society as a whole, discouraging harmful practices, and countering the concentration of wealth that results from unregulated markets. We the People must:

Identify federal corporate subsides as taxable corporate revenue for the purpose of state taxable income.

Enforce the Oregon estate tax on estates of over $500,000. People have the right to leave their children a legacy, but not a dynasty.

Enact a more progressive state income tax, including raising the income level below which no state income taxes are due.

Support the Oregon tradition of not having a regressive sales tax, with the exception of luxury and tourist taxes.

Abolish the Oregon lottery as it is state-sponsored gambling.

Identify and implement taxes on point-source pollution.

Ecological Wisdom

Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which uses resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which protects the environment and replenishes the soil, move to an energy efficient economy, and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

Population

Action Items:

Fully fund Planned Parenthood clinics throughout Oregon.

Acknowledge that unchecked population growth of any species, including humans, will stress the geography they inhabit, and will, unless limited, lead to catastrophic consequences.

We must expand our efforts to reduce our individual environmental impact, and yet understand that these efforts are not sufficient. Unchecked growth in human population will adversely impact the habitability of the planet. We the People must:

Demand responsibility from men and educate them on effective male-based contraceptive methods.

Provide free birth control for all who desire it and require licensed pharmacists to fill such prescriptions.

Prohibit health care providers or insurers who fail to cover all aspects of reproductive health from doing business in the State of Oregon.

Energy

Action Items:

Oregon will not permit any liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal or pipeline

Oregon will not permit coal exports from any port nor permit coal transport through the state.

Oregon will exercise its power to regulate greenhouse gas emission from cars, factories, and any other source

In light of the March 11, 2011 earthquake near Honshu, Japan and the nuclear disaster that followed, Oregon will close the current nuclear reactors at Reed College, Oregon State University, and any other commercial or research reactor in Oregon, and Oregon will block any and all future nuclear energy research or development in the state.

In light of countless oil spills including the May 3, 2010 Gulf Oil disaster, the Oregon coast will remain a drill-free zone.

In light of the ongoing threat to the water supply, Oregon will ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in any natural gas exploration that may be occurring now or in the future.

The human demand for energy continues to grow. The burning of fossil fuels is an unsustainable option, both because oil reserves are rapidly dwindling (peak oil) and it impacts the catastrophe of runaway climate change. In order to develop methods of using energy in an ecologically viable manner, We the People must:

Establish carbon taxes to internalize the costs of fossil fuel use and accelerate the transition to alternative fuel sources.

Adopt aggressive standards for automotive fuel efficiency.

Promote mass transit and other alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles such as bicycling.

Empower communities to limit growth to maintain available, local water supplies.

Without water there is no life. Our collective understanding of water needs to shift away from ownership of water rights towards the vision of water as a part of our collective commons. In order to preserve and restore valuable sources of clean water and the natural habitats of aquatic species, We the People must:

Strengthen existing point and non-point pollution discharge laws.

Develop and implement comprehensive watershed management plans.

Restructure the industrial, agricultural, and municipal water rates to encourage efficient water use.

Expand the use of passive and natural systems (such as wetlands) for storm water and waste water treatment.

Protect the right of the people to collect and use their own rainwater.

Encourage a transition to the agricultural and residential use of drip irrigation.

Develop an infrastructure to support the appropriate re-use of “gray” and “black” waters.

Require the installation of water-efficient appliances and fixtures in all new construction and encourage the replacement of water-inefficient appliances and fixtures in older buildings through economic incentives.

Educate the public regarding the need for reducing carbon and methane outputs to minimize climate change. Our water supply needs winter snow pack in the Cascades, Wallowas, Siskiyous, Blues, Coast, and all our mountains.

Urban Land Use

Action Items:

Repeal Measure 37 which prevents Oregonians from collectively making land management decisions.

Require all urban areas with populations of 20,000 or more to have an Urban Growth Boundary to encourage higher density and smart growth.

Require all neighboring municipalities whose boundaries are less than ten miles apart to develop a non-competitive regional development plan.

Change building codes to allow alternative, earth-friendly building practices, including but not limited to straw bale, cob, adobe, and micro-homes.

In order for urban environments to provide residents with a high quality of life that has minimal impact on the ecosystem, We the People must:

Block expansions of Urban Growth Boundaries without a vote of the people in the impacted regional development plan area.

Wilderness and Biodiversity

Action Items:

Repeal The Mining Act of 1872, minimize the extraction of oil, gas, and minerals, and tax extraction where it occurs.

Protect gray wolf packs that have migrated into Oregon while creating co-existence plans for range owners and farmers.

Maintain the ban on sport hunting cougars with dogs.

Ban the unsustainable practice of corporate clear-cutting on state and federal lands.

In order to preserve and expand the capacity of regional and global ecosystems to provide humanity with sustenance and enjoyment while allowing natural evolution to continue, We the People must:

Strictly enforce the Endangered Species Act with an expanded scope.

Permanently protect all remaining pristine public lands and all remaining old growth trees.

Eliminate commercial logging on all public lands. Ban the use of timber from public lands for commercial purposes.

Ban the construction of new roads and the use of herbicides in public forests.

Mandate the use of sustainable logging practices (selective cut) on private forest lands.

Increase the required buffer zone for stream corridors to 150 feet on both sides of any river, creek, or stream.

Re-introduce native species of plants and animals into areas from which they were eradicated.

Control the intentional and unintentional transport of species in order to prevent the introduction of non-indigenous species.

Maintain the international ban on commercial whaling and offer sanctuary to groups like Sea Shepherd (including protection by the Coast Guard) who intercede on behalf of these giants of the sea.

Ban the trade in coral reef species.

Ban dragnet fishing.

Create international accords that reduce fish harvesting to sustainable levels.

Prohibit oil and gas drilling off our coast and on public lands.

Sustainable Agriculture

Action Items:

Eliminate barriers to hemp and cannabis production.

U.S. patents on naturally originating organisms and plants will be unenforceable in Oregon.

Ban the importation and sale of patented seeds in Oregon. Fine corporations holding such patents when their seeds cross pollinate the crops of any Oregon farmer. The amount will be 50% greater than any fine leveled by the corporation upon the farmer. The collected fine will reimburse the farmer for any federal court or corporate imposed fine or penalty.

Support the ability of residents to responsibly raise domestic farm animals.

Waste Management

Action Items:

See that all existing Superfund sites in Oregon are fully cleaned within ten years.

Require producers and commercial consumers of industrial and agricultural hazardous materials to fully document the trade, use and safe disposal of these materials.

Require all producers to be fully responsible to provide for the tracking and disposal of consumer-sold hazardous materials.

Recycling is not enough. We must reduce consumption, reuse, and re-purpose items before recycling to extend the useful life of all resources. In order to move towards the elimination of wasted resources and hazardous waste, We the People must:

Establish resource extraction taxes to encourage the re-use, recycling, and reduced use of raw materials. Tax income on resource extraction shall be earmarked to resource preservation and restoration.

Require manufacturers to take responsibility for the full life cycles of their products.

Increase percentages of recycled post-consumer content in products.

Encourage the recycling of paints and other commodity construction materials by waste management companies.

Ensure composting facilities are properly covered and aerated to avoid impacts on low-income communities that normally host such facilities.

Transportation

Action Items:

Block current efforts to create a “gas” tax on electric vehicles; electric vehicle owners should not be penalized for their conservation effort.

Support funding for and redirecting federal subsidies to mass transit and alternatives to single-occupancy automobile transit.

Pass the Idaho Stop Law in Oregon to legalize existing safe bicycle behavior on public streets.

Goods and people must be moved around. We currently rely far too heavily on trucking and on private automobiles. We the people must:

Increase funding for mass transit.

Reduce both direct and hidden subsidies for trucking and private automobiles.

Explore establishing limits on the number of private vehicles that can be legally registered within the confines of urban growth districts as a means to reduce private vehicle dependence.

Ban studded tires as they are unnecessary compared to new tread technology and unduly increase wear and tear on the road.

Support a measure to the voters to repeal the provision in the Oregon Constitution requiring that gas taxes be spent only on roads so that these monies can be spent on a variety of alternative transportation projects.

Maintain full funding for the Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) programs, as these foster home ownership, business start-ups, and educational advancement.

We believe that the economy should be localized and decentralized. The current system puts the reins of economic power in the hands of distant executives and stockholders. Furthermore, local manufacturing keeps money in Oregon, avoids waste, and reduces the cost and carbon output of shipping goods thousands of miles from the producer to the consumer. We the People must:

Create taxes, loan programs, and other policies that favor small, local businesses over multinational corporations.

Encourage Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), community gardens, and farmers’ markets.

Support and promote small businesses, co-ops, and nonprofit community service organizations.

Eliminate subsidies to businesses that diminish the quality of life for Oregon residents through substandard labor practices, social irresponsibility, or environmental degradation.

Use the power of the Attorney General and Secretary of State to revoke corporate charters for criminal conduct as provided for in ORS 60.

Eliminate subsidies to attract and expand businesses that primarily hire new workers from outside of Oregon.

Nonviolence

It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naïve about the intentions of other governments or the vulnerability of certain populations. We promote nonviolent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community, and global peace.

Military & National Guard

Action Items:

Withdraw all Oregon National Guard troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, and all other foreign exercises and block their current and future orders for deployment.

Support the withdrawal of the Oregon-based Coast Guard from participating in the “war on drugs” and ask them to keep their boats in Oregon waters.

While our pillar of peace opposes any aggressive war, it is not intended to marginalize our support for people employed by any branch of the military. The Oregon National Guard is a valued asset, as are its members. They are needed in Oregon to render assistance in the event of natural disaster and to aid in search and rescue. As the Green Party National platform and the National and Global Issues sections of this platform address our views on military action, this section will focus on the Oregon National Guard, Coast Guard, and military bases within the confines of the State of Oregon. We the People must:

Applaud the elimination of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and welcome the full and open service of the LGBTQ communities in Oregon’s National Guard and the US Armed Forces.

Dissolve the corporate status of any Oregon-based corporation that engages in the business of mercenary work, and bar any similar non-Oregon-based private military contractor from doing business in or recruiting in the State of Oregon.

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

Action Items:

Repeal Measure 11 and all mandatory sentencing laws, including “three-strikes” laws, as such laws are a legislative restriction of the judiciary and a violation of separation of powers.

Eliminate the practice of racial profiling and rigorously investigate any allegation of discriminatory practices by any law enforcement officer.

End capital punishment. This cruel and vengeful form of punishment has been ineffective as a deterrent to crime and has been administered disproportionately against minorities and the poor.

Prevent any redefinition of rape that would dis-empower rape survivors from getting the justice they deserve.

Strengthen and enforce laws against corporate crimes such as fraud, defective products, pollution, and unsafe working conditions. Adopt laws that authorize individual court actions to repeal corporate charters when the public interest is violated.

We seek to create a criminal justice system based on prevention, restitution, rehabilitation, reconciliation and restorative justice, rather than one currently used based on vengeance, punishment; and forced labor. In order to realize the concept of equal justice for all, We the People must:

Emphasize prevention and rehabilitation over incarceration.

Provide for compensation, benefits, and oversight processes for public defense attorneys equal to prosecuting attorneys.

Provide mental health services outside the criminal justice system and stop the criminalization of mental illness.

Address the problems in the criminal justice system that are reflected in the racially and economically unbalanced nature of the prison population.

Limit any jury sentence or judgment to the maximum of any offered plea deal.

Establish and empower community policing and citizen police oversight boards.

End the use of military-style practices by police forces. Expand gun violence prevention and mandate nonviolence education for law enforcement personnel.

Prohibit the use of horses and chemical weapons such as pepper spray to control crowds.

Investigate and prohibit the use of agent provocateurs to incite violence at citizen protests.

Respect the First Amendment and Oregon constitutional rights of peaceful protesters.

Require protections for law-enforcement whistle-blowers.

Prohibit the privatization of prisons. No corporation should profit from the incarceration of a person.

Drug Policy

Action Items:

End the war on drugs.

Support measures intended to legalize the sale and use of marijuana by adults age 21 and older.

The violations of civil liberties and the violence that continues to result from the “War on Drugs” exceed any of the benefit derived from drug interdiction. Drug dependence is a public health problem that must be countered by treatment, not by war. We the People must:

End the criminalization of drug use and possession.

Demand treatment of drug abuse as a public health problem rather than a crime.

Usher in a general amnesty for all people in prisons, on parole, or charged with drug crimes in which no other violence was perpetrated.

Provide drug and alcohol abuse treatment on demand for all who request it.

Animal Rights

Action Items:

Continue support for the 1994 Ballot Measure 18 passed by the people, opposing the use of dogs in the sport hunting of cougars.

Ban the importation of non-native wildlife in the pet and animal trades, with the only exception being for zoos and aquariums certified by the AZA (http://www.aza.org/).

Ban the private ownership, possession, and trade of native and non-native wildlife.

Support for the reintroduction of native gray wolf packs in Oregon and for the continuation of their protected status.

Cruelty against nonhuman animals is unacceptable, both because of the inherent rights of animals and because those who abuse other animals often go on to abuse humans. We the People must:

Enforce strong laws against animal cruelty.

Demand humane treatment of food animals. Cruel practices such as de-beaking and overcrowding, must be outlawed.

Prohibit the exploitation of animals for commercial entertainment purposes.

Require that ranchers, farmers, and others concerned about the loss of domesticated animals to natural predators demonstrate their adoption of non-lethal deterrents before any lethal means are considered.

Place the burden of proof upon industry that any animal experiments they conduct are necessary and cannot be conducted in any other manner.

Educate homeowners and gardeners about natural and non-lethal deterrents to protect homes, pets, and plants from wildlife and insects. Fund this by taxing pesticides and animal traps to give natural and non-lethal deterrents a price advantage in the market place.

Protect the right to record and document animal cruelty in commercial operations.